"... Yeah, something like that. I guess I can manipulat-" Almost instantaneously, his expression turned grim. Rico barely had any time to comprehend what was going on, the blood-bender released a stream of solidified blood that he assumed was for him, considering it was a mere millimeter away from maiming his cheek. Instead, it hit the ground right next to a figure that seemed to have been there during the earlier scuffle, considering he hadn't heard or noticed its entrance. Come on... another one?
"You... you hiding there. Are you a friend of that man who attacked me earlier?"
Rico surely didn't appreciate yet another rude interruption. First they thought they were being attacked, and now they were being followed? Why do people here think it's a decent idea to tail superhumans? Shaking his head, he patted the man on the shoulder, who had his blood still stretched out towards the unknown prisoner, clearly as a warning shot. The sun was setting faster than ever, what with all the expected interceptions going on. I mean, Arkos, right?
"Hey, don't waste that stuff." he whispered to the haemo-manipulator. The gardener inhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, picturing all the plants he had left unguarded for the past couple of hours he'd been gone. To be fair, the boy didn't think it would take this long to help a couple people out. Might as well hurry the hell up. He slowly knelt down and pressed his palms face-down into the dirt. Soon after, a slight rumble erupted from beneath the group. The tremor was minor, but enough to knock the darkened figure back onto the ground with a loud yelp. Rico took this as a good enough time to extend his arm in the man's direction. A few seconds was all it took for the fully-grown umbrella plants next to the figure to burst from the ground, spewing debris in all directions. The flora had begun to mutate and with the Grower's help, its stems grew larger and thicker, followed by the umbrella leaves that expanded until it was wide enough to accommodate a human body.
All the while the man just sat there in horror, Rico allowed the vegetation to keep growing at a rapid pace, coiling and wrapping itself around the man until he was satisfied with the man-made cocoon. A second later, his fists clenched, and the deed was done. Rico opened his eyes and lightly gawked at the human-lettuce roll he'd managed to conjure up. It was his first time handling an umbrella plant, out of all things, so he hadn't expected it to have gone that smoothly... and without a fight.
Before turning around to leave, he made sure to leave a couple breathing holes, and used his ability to cut off the flow of nutrients from the core of the plant, guaranteeing the withering of the gigantic leaves within the hour. That way, he wouldn't die - not unless someone or something else got to him first. By leaving him here, he was leaving behind a potential murderer, and free bait. A good distraction. Killing him was not the answer, Rico decided. If anything, a little entrapment would've been a quick fix, one that could ensure a safer trip to Haeda without being followed by the same dude.
The brunet got back on his feet, and dusted away the crust of the earth from his ripped jeans. His fingers felt a slight cramp coming on, but it was something he could worry about later. For now, the prisoner that had presumably attacked the blood-bender was of no issue, and that's all there was to it. Even now, while looking at the plant cocoon, he'd realized the aggressor either hadn't bothered to use his powers to escape, or he had no such ability. Both cases were in their favor, and he was fine with leaving it at that.
"Onwards to the promised land!" he yelled at the group, while raising his arms towards the sky.
MENTIONED: @Ginger Kollie @Inertia @JunkMail
